Hot in the kitchen: Winner takes all in design awards
For the first time, one designer scoops the lot – best kitchen, bathroom and designer for 2021. By Colleen Hawkes.
For the first time ever, one designer has won all three top awards in New Zealand’s biggest kitchen and bathroom awards programme.
Davinia Sutton of Christchurch made history, taking out the Supreme Kitchen Design, Supreme Bathroom Design and Designer of the Year awards at the National
Kitchen & Bathroom Association (NKBA) Excellence in
Design Awards held in Wellington last night.
The awards are judged anonymously, and the renowned ‘‘Queen of Kitchens’’, who runs Detail by Davinia Sutton, won the awards for a kitchen and bathroom in a house in Fendalton, Christchurch. In addition, she won 10 other awards, including the runner-up bathroom award and Master Craftsmanship Award.
Sutton’s Supreme Kitchen is a bold, modern design that makes a strong visual statement, which judges said gave them ‘‘butterflies’’.
‘‘It has astounding beauty and detailing that grabs you and holds you close. The mixing of timbers is a great success, and detailing and materiality showstopper.’’
Sutton said the concept of the kitchen design was formed around the idea of a front and rear kitchen.
‘‘The front zone serves the day-to-day needs of the family, while the rear kitchen provides overflow with a working pantry zone, additional storage, prepping station and integrated appliances.
‘‘On the back side of the pantry space is a hidden bar, with custom sink, wine fridge and glassware storage.
‘‘By providing three standalone, yet integrated working zones, several people can utilise the space at one time.’’
Sutton’s Supreme Bathroom Design is from the same house and described by judges as an ‘‘outstanding and attractive the is a bathroom that exudes luxury, drama and beauty’’.
‘‘The attention to detail is extraordinary, from the lighting and the stone shadows, to the gorgeous vanities and symmetry of the spaces.
‘‘It allows the users to have completely separate and individual experiences, while also sharing mutual ground. A refined, elegant and emotive space.’’
Sutton won the Designer of the Year Award for her work on this kitchen and bathroom.
NKBA president, Nick Thompson of Fisher and Paykel, said Davinia Sutton’s dominance at the awards was a record-breaking event.
‘‘Never before have we had a designer win the three biggest awards of the night, Supreme Kitchen Design, Supreme Bathroom Design and Designer of the
Year. This display of talent and power demonstrates that Davinia really is at the top of her game and an absolute force to be reckoned with.’’
Auckland designer Natalie Du Bois of Du Bois Designer Kitchens & Interiors won the Supreme Kitchen Design Runner-Up Award, plus four additional awards, for a minimalist midcentury modern kitchen in a coastal bach that celebrates the beautiful sea views.
Not content with picking up the three main awards, Sutton also took out the Supreme Bathroom Design Runner-Up Award with a bathroom that features a centrepiece of a deep, freestanding, charcoal mineral stone bathtub, positioned in front of the shutter-clad windows.
In total, 41 NKBA Excellence in Design Awards were awarded to 26 projects.